The White Hotel

At first I thought this was going to be totally pandering and gratuitous in every sense, bolstered by the inclusion of Freud but more critical than laudatory. The narrative in general is a very stylish, literary type production. After the Freud letters which open the novel comes an erotic poem apparently by a nymphomaniac, his patient. Then, in a new section, but possibly same woman, anonymous sex on a train and a fantastical hugely symbolic excursion through a “white hotel.” This is impossible to summarize or even give much of a review of and I have no idea what a Freudian would make of it – I kind of skimmed it was ludicrous and faintly offensive.

Ah well, I kept reading and it all comes together incredibly well in the end, making a powerful statement and the whole is very much worth reading (if you can make it through the preliminaries). The more I think about it Freud was necessary as an interesting introduction to keep the reader reading until he is gob-smacked. (no more spoilers!)